


of love and war

by titaniaeli



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Finding The Way Back Together, Friendship/Love, Gen, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-21 09:35:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3687291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/titaniaeli/pseuds/titaniaeli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ace found a family in the Whitebeard Squad. He found himself in the midst of a bloodied battlefield, surrounded by gunshots and terror. It made him alive. </p><p>Ace let him go and Sabo let him stay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	of love and war

They met during their service. Clicking instantly, they became fast friends and confidants, and then later on, after various near death experiences and battles, they became lovers. 

Sabo wasn’t a fighter. To be more precise, he didn’t like wars. He was always up for a thrilling fight, but taking a life was another matter. For five years, he fought and served his country. He thought he had done enough.

He wanted to pursue his dream of writing a book, not die in some unknown part of the world and have his body shipped back to his step sister.

It would break Koala. 

So he left the military. 

But Ace decided to stay. He found a family in the Whitebeard Squad. He found himself in the midst of a bloodied battlefield, surrounded by gunshots and terror. It made him alive. 

Ace let him go and Sabo let him stay.

Sabo never did forget the bright-eyed man with the boyish smile though.

He had various relationships in the next few years, men and women he loved and cared for, but never to the same degree that he had felt for Ace.

Ace wasn’t even his first love. But he was, Sabo mused a bit sadly, the one he loved most. 

The thing was, they still contacted each other through emails and letters. Of course, considering Ace’s unstable situation, such things were irregular. Sometimes Sabo doesn’t even hear from him for an entire year.

He submerged himself in his work, burning the midnight oil on his second novel and starting up a side project of writing a children’s book. He had met Luffy a few months after leaving the military and the younger man had become his best friend. It wasn’t unlike his relationship with Ace, with one key difference. Sabo doesn’t love Luffy romantically. The childlike man with the enormous heart was his younger brother in everything but blood.

Luffy was also his inspiration for deciding to write a children’s book. The dark-haired man was studying in the community college, but he worked part-time in a childcare centre.  

Luffy was like a child himself, so it was not surprising that he gets along with kids so well.

His life had been so hectic lately that Sabo has hardly any time to be concerned about Ace. He was rushing for deadlines, trying to proofread his finished chapters and his publisher was giving him a headache recently.

He barely even has time for Luffy and his sister. In fact, today’s one of the rare times he could finally get out to meet Koala for lunch.

He set his phone on silent mode, dropped it into his drawer and left his room. He wanted just one day where he didn’t have to hear his publisher screeching over the line.

Just as his footsteps faded away, his phone vibrated in his drawer.

 

* * *

 

Sabo was happy.

It was like he was completely invigorated after a day out with Koala. They had lunch at his favourite restaurant, the Baratie. After spending the whole afternoon being entertained by Sanji swooning and gushing over his bemused sister and begging her to try out every delicacy, the siblings left the restaurant feeling full and bloated. They caught a movie next, had dinner and now he was heading back to his apartment feeling satisfied with his day.

The sky was already turning dark early from the oncoming storm. He could smell the salty scent of rain in the air and he quickened his pace to hurry get home.

He was inserting the key into his doorknob when he paused, feeling a tingle at the back of his neck. Being a soldier never really left you. Somedays, Sabo still woke up panting and sweating from his nightmares. Your instincts never left you either. It’s just suppressed when you returned to normality. 

There was someone in his apartment.

Frowning, he turned the knob and pushed open the door quietly. His house was brightly lit, although Sabo remembered switching off his lights before he left. 

A robber wouldn’t possibly switched on every light if they break in, right?

He heard a soft humming coming from his kitchen, and he looked up—

Just as someone came out, carrying a cup of coffee in his hand. Someone dark-haired and freckled, with a familiar boyish smile that Sabo could remember as if its just yesterday that _he_  was beside him.

For a second, the two stared at each other. 

Then, Sabo gasped, eyes widening. The cup of coffee nearly slipped from Ace’s fingers, before he hurriedly gathered his wits and set it aside. 

"Hey, Sabo." Ace said almost nervously. 

"Why — Why are you—" Too stunned to properly articulate his words, Sabo gave up and rushed forward to throw his arms around Ace’s neck. 

"I tried to call your phone, but you didn’t pick up. So I thought you changed your number or something." Ace explained, voice abit muffled. 

But he was hugging Sabo back, and he was in his arms and he was  _here_. 

"Are you staying then?" The blonde asked softly. 

Ace smiled at him. The familiarity ached like a blow to the gut and Sabo’s falling in love all over again.

"Yeah, I left the military. I was hoping — hoping that I still have a place here." Ace stuttered, and the unexpected shyness was endearing. "—With  _you_.”

"Ace," Sabo laughed, shaking his head. He grabbed the sides of Ace’s face and leaned forward to kiss him hard.  _I’ve never stopped loving you._

"Welcome home." He murmured against Ace’s lips. 

 _I’m home._ Ace traced the words reverently onto Sabo’s skin. 


End file.
